[Federal Register: September 3, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 170)]
[Notices]
[Page 56260-56262]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03se02-22]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Farm Service Agency
Notice of Funds Availability; 2002 Cattle Feed Program
AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces the availability of $150 million under
section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (section 32) and Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC)-owned nonfat dry milk (NDM) to implement the
2002 Cattle Feed Program (CFP). This program will provide feed
assistance to foundation beef cattle operations in Nebraska, South
Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. The CFP is designed to provide feed
assistance to eligible foundation beef herd owners/lessees in areas
most severely stricken by drought. The program is available only in
Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. These States were
selected because the most recent data shows that at least 75 percent of
the pasture and range crops in these states are rated ``poor'' or
``very poor'' with more than 50 percent of these acres rated as ``very
poor.'' At the time of the selection of States for participation in the
2002 Cattle Feed Program, other drought-impacted States' pasture and
range crops rating were in the 75 percent category; however, their
``very poor'' rating was significantly less than 50 percent.
Accordingly, the four States with the very worst overall rating were
determined to have the most dire immediate need for assistance to
prevent further liquidation of foundation beef herds. An approximate
forty-day supply of feed will be provided under CFP, which should feed
the eligible livestock in these four States until fall grazing and
additional roughage becomes available. This forty-day feed assistance
period is neither too short a time to be ineffective nor an
unnecessarily long period for sustenance, and was a consideration in
determining the States to be included as eligible for participation in
2002 CFP. The Farm Service Agency (FSA), through a signup process, will
determine eligible producers and the amount of assistance that will be
available in the form of a feed credit to be used at participating feed
dealers. FSA will also cooperate with feed mills to help distribute the
supplemental feed. Stocks of nonfat dry milk owned by the CCC will be
made available to the feed industry at a reduced price to help reduce
the feed cost.
DATES: FSA will begin accepting applications on August 28, 2002. The
deadline for receipt of an application Form FSA-551 is December 2,
2002. FSA will not consider any application received after the
deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Tjeerdsma, Chief, Emergency
Preparedness and Programs Branch, USDA/FSA/DAFP/Stop 0517, 1400
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0522; telephone (202) 720-
7641; facsimile (202) 690-3610; electronic mail: Lynn--
Tjeerdsma@wdc.usda.gov; or Candy Thompson, Deputy Director, Warehouse
and Inventory Division USDA/FSA/DACO/Stop 0553, 1400 Independence Ave.
SW., Washington, DC 20250-0; telephone (202) 720-6004; facsimile (202)
690-3123; electronic mail: Candyy--Thompson@wdc.usda.gov. Persons with
disabilities who require alternative means for communication of
regulatory information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should
contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12372
This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order
12372, which requires with State and local officials.
Environmental Compliance
The environmental impacts of the program to be implemented by this
notice have been considered in accordance with the provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321, et
seq.) Based on the nature and scope of this notice, FSA has concluded
that the notice will not have any significant impacts upon the human
environment as documented through the completion of an environmental
evaluation. A copy of the environmental evaluation is available for
inspection and review upon request. Therefore, the agency has
determined that this program is a categorical exclusion and no further
environmental review is required.
Paperwork Reduction Act
A request for emergency clearance of the information collections
associated with this notice has been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under 5 CFR 1320.13(a)(2)(iii), and been
assigned clearance number 0560-0222.
I. Definitions Applicable to 2002 Cattle Feed Program
Agency means the Farm Service Agency, or the Commodity Credit
Corporation, their employees, and any successor agency.
Applicant means the individual or business entity applying for
assistance.
Beef cattle means bovine livestock produced for the sole purpose of
providing meat for human consumption.
Breeding bull means a male bovine of adequate age to be used for
breeding purposes and is included in a foundation beef herd.
Brood cow means a female bovine that has delivered one or more
offspring, and is part of a foundation beef herd.
Business entity means a corporation, partnership, joint operation,
trust, limited liability company, or cooperative.
Deputy Administrator or DAFP means the Deputy Administrator of Farm
Programs, Farm Service Agency (FSA), or a designee.
Eligible feed means manufactured feed that is suitable to be fed to
beef cows, bulls, and replacement heifers, and made available from the
eligible feed supplier to be exchanged for feed credit.
Eligible livestock means foundation beef livestock that have been
owned, or cash leased by the applicant for 3 or more months prior to
August 12, 2002. Foundation beef livestock subject to a contract for
purchase by the applicant that was negotiated prior to May 12, 2002,
are eligible livestock.
[[Page 56261]]
Eligible State means Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wyoming.
Eligible Feed Supplier means a feed supplier or dealer who has
signed a contract with FSA to participate in the 2002 Cattle Feed
Program, and has been assigned a 4-digit numeric ID code by FSA.
Foundation livestock means a herd of beef cattle kept for the sole
purpose of breeding and reproduction of beef cattle. A foundation herd
consists of brood cows, replacement bred heifers (not to exceed 15
percent of the number of brood cows in the foundation beef herd), and
breeding bulls (not to exceed one bull per 15 head of brood cows and
replacement bred heifers).
Ineligible livestock means buffalo; beefalo; dairy cattle; cattle
added to the foundation beef herd after May 12, 2002; neutered beef
cattle; foundation livestock that died or were sold by the applicant
before August 12, 2002. All other bovine livestock that are not
foundation livestock or beef cattle are ineligible.
Replacement bred heifer means a pregnant female bovine that has not
borne any offspring.
II. Appeals
An applicant may request an appeal or review of an adverse decision
made by the Agency in accordance with 7 CFR parts 11 and 780, or its
successor regulation.
III. Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must meet all of the following requirements to be
eligible for the 2002 Cattle Feed Program:
1. Timely application. The applicant must submit a signed Form FSA-
551 completed to the best of the applicant's ability to the Agency, no
earlier than August 28, 2002, and no later than December 2, 2002, or
such earlier date as FSA may announce.
2. Foundation livestock owner or lessee. The applicant must own, be
subject to a contract to purchase, or cash lease, eligible livestock.
3. Foundation livestock located in eligible state. The applicant's
eligible livestock must have been physically located in an eligible
State on August 12, 2002.
IV. Gross Revenue Limitation: None
V. Payment Limitation: None
VI. Determining the Amount of Assistance
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and other USDA
data indicate the following:
Foundation Beef Livestock Numbers in Four Eligible States
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Beef cow
State Beef cows replacement Bulls Total
heifers
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Colorado........................................ 799,000 120,000 45,000 964,000
Nebraska........................................ 1,932,000 285,000 100,000 2,317,000
South Dakota.................................... 1,792,000 300,000 95,000 2,187,000
Wyoming......................................... 815,000 165,000 50,000 1,030,000
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Total....................................... 5,338,000 870,000 290,000 6,498,000
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A total of $150 million in Section 32 funds is available to FSA. A
reserve of $546,000 allows a total of $149,454,000 available for feed
credit. Dividing that available funding by the 6,498,000 estimated
eligible livestock in the four States results in $23.00. Thus, feed
credit in the amount of $23.00 will be made available from FSA for each
head of eligible livestock.
VII. Applicant Certification of Eligible Livestock
The quantity of eligible livestock must be specified by the owner
or lessee on Form FSA-551. The applicant will report to FSA the number
of eligible livestock that died or are sold, beginning with the date of
application through December 12, 2002, only when the number of dead or
sold eligible livestock exceeds 5 percent of the total number of
eligible foundation livestock certified on the Form FSA-551.
VIII. Payment Eligibility
In order to receive a payment the applicant must, as of May 12,
2002, be an owner, lessee, or under contract to purchase eligible
foundation beef livestock in an eligible State; submit a Form FSA-551
to FSA; receive FSA approval on such form; and meet all other
eligibility requirements.
IX. Payment Amount (Feed Credit)
The number of eligible foundation beef cattle multiplied by the
rate of $23.00 equals the feed credit amount to be used to purchase
feed for eligible livestock at participating FSA-approved feed
processor/dealer.
X. Length of Term Feed Assistance Will Provide
For a beef cow, the feed requirement used for previous FSA-
administered feed assistance programs, such as the Livestock Assistance
Program found at 7 CFR 1439 is converted to a corn equivalent of 15.7
pounds of corn per day. Using an Olympic five-year average of 1995-2000
corn prices, the national average price for corn is calculated at $2.07
per bushel or $0.037 per pound. The support feeding rate of 15.7 pounds
of corn multiplied by $0.037 per pound of corn required per day to
support a beef cow is equivalent to $0.58 per day to feed a beef cow.
The subsistence level of $0.58 per day divided into the $23.00 feed
assistance results in an approximate 40 day period that the 2002 Cattle
Feed Program will provide assistance to feed eligible beef cattle.
XI. How the 2002 CFP Will Work
On the CFP application, the applicant who is an owner of eligible
livestock in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wyoming will provide
FSA with and certify to (1) The applicant's name; (2) taxpayer
identification number; (3) address; (4) number of eligible livestock,
and (5) pasture location and acreage. The applicant also will identify
from an FSA supplied list of feed suppliers, the supplier where the
applicant will receive feed credit from FSA for manufactured feed for
eligible livestock. FSA will enter into a contract with participating
feed processors/dealers to: (1) Provide feed to producers according to
their eligibility and at no cost to the producer, and (2) purchase NDM
at $0.01 per 25 kg/55.115 lb. bag, to be used to supplement the protein
content of the manufactured feed for the eligible beef cattle under
CFP. After FSA County Committee approval of the CFP application, the
information on the application will be transmitted to FSA's Kansas City
Commodity Office (KCCO) from the county office. KCCO will transmit each
eligible producer's name, taxpayer identification number, and
eligibility amount, to feed processors under contract with FSA. Feed
suppliers will establish a credit for use by the producer to obtain
eligible feed from the feed supplier. Feed suppliers will invoice FSA
periodically for
[[Page 56262]]
payment of feed provided to the producers.
XII. Misrepresentation, Scheme or Device
A person shall be ineligible to receive assistance under this part,
and be subject to such other remedies as may be allowed by law, if,
with respect to such program, it is determined by an official of FSA,
that such person has:
(a) Adopted any scheme or other device that tends to defeat the
purpose of the program operated under this Notice;
(b) Made any fraudulent representation with respect to this
program; or
(c) Misrepresented any fact affecting a program determination.
XIII. Liens and Claims of Creditors
Any benefit or portion thereof due any person under this program
shall be allowed without regard to questions of title under State law,
and without regard to any claim or lien in favor of any person,
including agencies of the U.S. Government.
XIV. Power of Attorney
In those instances in which, prior to the issuance of this Notice,
a producer has signed a power of attorney on an approved form FSA-211
for a person or entity indicating that such power shall extend to all
programs listed on the form, without limitation, such power will be
considered to extend to this program unless by September 6, 2000, the
person granting the power notifies the local FSA office for the control
county that the grantee of the power is not authorized to handle
transactions for this program for the grantor.
XV. Administration
Where circumstances preclude compliance due to circumstances beyond
the applicant's control, the county or State FSA committee may request
that relief be granted by the Deputy Administrator under this Notice.
In such cases, except for statutory deadlines and other statutory
requirements, the Deputy Administrator may, in order to more equitably
accomplish the goals of this Notice, waive or modify deadlines and
other program requirements if the failure to meet such deadlines or
other requirements does not adversely affect operation of the program
and are not prohibited by statute.
Signed at Washington, DC, on August 27, 2002.
Teresa C. Lasseter,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency,and Executive Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 02-22437 Filed 8-29-02; 9:04 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P
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